ST. CROIX — An Indian national has been sentenced to 139 days in jail after his conviction in federal court for illegally re-entering the United States.
An announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of the Virgin Islands states that 40-year old Ashokkumar Patel was trying to board a Spirit Airlines flight to Fort Lauderdale on November 24, 2021 when he was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the Henry E. Rohlsen airport on St. Croix. He reportedly presented officials with a fake Florida driver’s license as identification.
Investigations reveal that he had previously been detained by CBP after being apprehended in Tecate California in August 2019, and deported from the United States in November of that year.
Apart from his 139 days of incarceration, Patel was also sentenced to a year of supervised release following his stint in jail, and a $100 special assessment.
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